The Vampire Diaries

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Jean-Luc Garbo
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 1:55 am
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The Vampire Diaries

#1 Post by Jean-Luc Garbo » Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:23 pm

Oh, please, this guy needs to watch an entire season of The Vampire Diaries and then tell me he wasn't glad to have it available to him all at one go.

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swo17
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Re: TV of 2012

#2 Post by swo17 » Tue Oct 16, 2012 3:29 pm

Entire post in tiny writing out of shame...
Andre Jurieu wrote:And I've also heard The Vampire Diaries is a surprising good ... though, despite my infatuation with Nina Dobrev, I find it difficult to justify watching CW shows.
Since the cat's out of the bag, I might as well spill. Yes, the first few episodes actually feature vampires reading their diary entries aloud, Ian Somerhalder is a bit of a ham, and the cast in general is a bit too pretty-looking. But the show quickly gives way to a procession of elaborate season/series-spanning chess matches between opposing supernatural forces that all have well-defined moves and generally employ them with great stealth and cunning. The show's mythology is very well thought-out, and it does a stellar job of gradually opening up the curtain, making each progressive threat seem exponentially more menacing than the last, and frequently forcing the characters to realign their alliances and priorities. Most rewardingly, the show is not afraid to demonstrate the seriousness of its threats, or the real peril faced by its protagonists, by frequently "letting happen that which cannot happen," including the killing off of main characters (though being set in the realm of the supernatural, many of these characters are able to return in a different, perhaps more menacing form). Practically every episode ends with a cliffhanger, and the stretches in between are often peppered with twists--at that pace, with the story constantly swirling around, you will occasionally meet with some groanworthy developments in the plot. But I've been surprised at how infrequently I've had to lodge this complaint against the show.

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Jean-Luc Garbo
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Re: TV of 2012

#3 Post by Jean-Luc Garbo » Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:02 am

For those of you just tuning in or still looking for your glasses, swo just made some fair and intelligent comments about The Vampire Diaries. The only thing to fear from this show is the constant music and your favorite characters getting killed. A big plus is that there's an admirable amount of friendship built amongst female characters. It's a fun show so far.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: TV of 2012

#4 Post by knives » Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:20 am

ctrl + is your friend in these cases.

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Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
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Re: The Vampire Diaries

#5 Post by Murdoch » Sun Oct 28, 2012 9:45 am

Thanks for the recommendation, guys. I've really been loving this show - mostly the second and third seasons, the first was marred by a Twilight-like romance and bad music choices. Thankfully, the series matures as the bodies pile up in the latter half of the first season and Elena and co. have to come to grips with each threat they must face.

Also, while I thought the actress playing Elena failed to make her the loveable ingenue that everyone falls heads over heels for,
SpoilerShow
her adaptation to being a vampire has been one of the most compelling storylines of the series thus far, and I think her character works better as a tragic figure of innocence lost than as the strong moral center of the ensemble.

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swo17
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Re: The Vampire Diaries

#6 Post by swo17 » Tue Oct 30, 2012 6:28 pm

Speaking of morals, one of the most interesting aspects of the show for me is the examination of morality among the fallen. The most sympathetic characters are constantly wrestling with how much of a monster to be as they cling to their humanity, e.g. Stefan oscillating between two extremes while Damon advocates moderation. The series doesn't clearly take a side (unless it's wherever Elena's romantic interests lie) but any perceived moral victories are of course highly relative--were these characters not supernatural beasts, they would all be considered psychopaths for the things that they have done at one time or another.
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I also love how they're not letting Elena off easy in this respect, having her body reject all substitutes for human blood fresh from the vein.
Consider also the parents and friends who have to come to terms with a loved one becoming a creature of the night. Letting them go on living is one thing, but how much consolation can there really be in knowing that they're "one of the good vampires"?

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